A Second Chance
by True Courage
Summary: A young girl escapes to Storybrooke, running from her old life with the hope of a second chance. Regina Mills takes her in, she herself hiding from a dark past. There she meets Detective Gold, who might be able to protect her from her dark past, if he doesn't destroy himself first. Agent Emma Swan comes for a case, but might find more than she ever expected.
1. Chapter 1

**An idea I had a long time ago that I'm writing down finally. **

**If you are waiting for Beast, I think I know at least how I want it to start, so it might be up soon. **

**This story will take place several years in the future and Storybrooke is a city.**

Xxx

Regina crossed her arms and sat back, waiting. How long did this girl expect her to wait? Surely, only a fool would appear for an interview late. If this was any other situation, Regina wouldn't have even given the girl the time of day. Seriously, did she think it was a joke?

Finally, there was a knock on the door. Regina stood and walked across the empty restaurant to unlock the door and let her in. The girl was much smaller than she was (she looked more like a teenager than 28) with short, curly brown curls and a pale shade of blue eyes. She had pale skin, though not quite as pale as Mary Margret's, and was very thin.

"I am so sorry," the girl said, sounding genuine, "I was caught up at home."

"Whatever," Regina snapped back. The girl flinched and her eyes became distant. "Come take a seat."

Regina observed the girl as they approached the table. She looked around almost as if she had never seen a restaurant before. Granted, the Golden Apple was indeed a fine restaurant, the best in Storybrooke. But it didn't earn the complete awe and curiosity that showed in the girl's eyes. They sat down at the table. The girl appeared shy and didn't seem to know what to do. Regina sighed and shook her head.

"Do you know why I'm seeing you?" Regina asked.

"I-it's a job interview, right?" the girl asked.

"Yes, but normally, I wouldn't have bothered, Miss French," Regina growled. "You have no job history, no education, and you have no records beyond a few weeks ago. Honestly, you intrigued me. But now I see I was wasting my time."

"No wait, please!" the girl begged. "I really need this job! No one else has even given me a chance, and I-"

"I am sorry, Miss French," Regina said. "I will walk you out."

"That's alright," the girl said, her voice soft. She stood and left quickly. Regina sighed and walked to the door to lock. But as she glanced out the window, she found the girl was still there, and she wasn't alone. There were five children around, none older than ten. Four boys and a girl, whom was apparently the youngest. Through the door, she could hear what they were saying.

"I'm sorry, mama wasn't able to get the job," she said.

"Does that mean we have to sleep in the van again?" the little girl whined.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do," Miss French sighed.

"Can't we leave?" one of the boys asked.

"I don't have money for gas," the woman said. "I'll just have to look else where."

With that the group left, leaving Regina feeling like a monster. Regina grumbled and stepped outside.

"The restaurant opens at 11am sharp!" Regina called after here. "Be here by 10."

Miss French stared at her in shock for a few moments, before breaking out in a bright smile.

"Oh, thank you!" the girl cried. "Thank you so much."

Regina waved her off than locked the door, listening to the kids loud chatter. She stared after them, than sighed.

"Come with me, please," Regina said. Startled, the girl nodded and complied. Regina led her to the apartment complex next door. Regina walked into the main office while the family stared in awe. Every room of the five floor building had it's own balcony and it was spotless. And the balconies weren't small either. The building wrapped around the pool and garden which were magnificent as well. When Regina came out, she led her up the stairs to the top floor, than walked over to the middle room. She unlocked and waved the family in.

The apartment was by no means of the imagination small. The living room was massive, as was the kitchen in the back. There were three rooms, each larger than one would imagine for an apartment, than there were two full baths.

"The apartment is yours," Regina said, handing her the key.

"I could never afford-"

"Indeed you could not," Regina said. "Which is why an amount will be taken from your pay every month depending on your tips. You don't have to worry about electricity, gas, or water, that will be taken care of. There is a laundry room on the first floor. This deal will be in effect so long as you work for me, do we have a deal."

Miss French nodded, fighting back tears as she took the key.

"Thank you so much!"

"Miss French-"

"Belle," she said.

"Belle..." Regina smiled softly. "I suggest you go fetch your things before it gets dark. I head something about a van?"

"Yes-"

"I'll send someone for it," Regina said. "Where is it?"

Belle suddenly looked suspicious.

"What?" Regina asked.

"Why are you doing this?" Belle asked. "You don't even know me."

Regina looked down at the children, whom had remained silent throughout the entire process.

"I have my reasons," Regina said. "Now, where is that van?"

xxx

"She had a point you know," the man asked as Regina left the room. "Why are you doing this?"

Regina glared at him.

"That is none of our business, Gold," Regina snapped.

The man smirked.

"It's the kids, isn't it?" the Scotsman said. "What is it with children and getting pass people's defenses?"

"I don't have time for this," Regina snapped.

"As you say dearie," Gold said. "But this is becoming a bit of a habit, you know. First your ex-stepdaughter, the Ashley girl, Ruby-"

"I believe we are done," Regina said.

"You sure have changed since I first brought you in," Gold smirked.

"I would appreciate it if you stayed out of my business, _detective._"

Gold shrugged and walked back into his apartment. Regina walked away, agitated. How did that man still know how to get under her skin? What does it matter to him what she did?

Regina's mind wondered back to Belle. That girl was running from something, she could see it.

But what?


	2. Chapter 2

Xxx

Gold groaned. Why won't they go away? Someone had been knocking incessantly at his door for at least an hour. Well, it felt like an hour. It's more likely only been ten minutes. Finally, Gold climbed out of bed and stumbled to the door, kicking the empty beer bottles out of the way and not even caring that he was only wearing a pair of pajama pants. Or at least he was last night. Now he was only in a pair of black boxers. Well, if someone wants to come bagging on his door at 5 o'clock in the morning, this was what they got. Gold opened the door and kinda wished he had chosen to put his pants back on.

The intruder was a woman, a tall blonde one. She seemed unamused by his attire. Well, not like Gold cared.

"Who are you?" Gold grumbled.

"Emma Swan," she introduced. "I'm here on business."

"And I care because...?"

"Because I've been sent to deal with your little 'cult' problem."

Gold grumbled under his breath and let her in. Gold closed the door and watched as Emma took a seat on the couch. He walked over, grabbing a pair of jeans on the floor along the way.

"From what I understand, you're the one in charge of the 'Aragan' case?" Emma asked skeptically. "Cause the last thing I need is a drunkard detective to deal with."

"I only drink on my days off," Gold replied. "So your the FBI agent they were sending?"

"That I am," Emma said.

"Than let's get one thing straight," Gold said sharply. "I don't want you here, but I don't have a choice. My men and I have gotten closer to taking this guy down than ever before. If you jeopardize that, there will be repercussions."

"IF you're doing such a great job, why isn't he caught already?" Emma shot back.

"Because he never leaves his land and the last time we tried to going in, they killed three girls and left their body on my front door," Gold said. "This man is a lunatic with a miniature army on his hands who has so thoroughly brainwashed his men that they are willing to kill their own children if he told them to. That and we have a new lead."

"Which is...?"

"A girl," Gold said. "The only one we know of who escaped."

"And she's talking?" Emma asked.

Gold shook her head.

"If we approached her now, she would rabbit," Gold said. "So we are just going to watch her for now, until she's ready to talk or someone comes for her. If someone does come, we'll get a new lead and we can protect her."

"Where is she?"

"Next door," Gold smirked.

"Next door?"

"Complete accident actually," Gold said. "The landlord took pity on her and her five children and gave them a place to stay."

"Five kids?" Emma asked. "How old is she?"

"The fake identity she got says 28," Gold said. "But in reality she's barely 22."

"Five kids at 22?"

"The eldest was born when she was 12," Gold said. "And according to my inside source, which was how we learned of her, she had another daughter, but she died."

"Know what happened?"

"She started her period early and was married off," Gold said. "They believe that when a girl starts to menstruate, they are old enough to marry. Anyway, the man was too rough with her and killed her. Which we are pretty sure is why she finally chose to run."

"That's messed up," Emma grimaced.

"The girl's name is Belle French," Gold said. "From what we've been able to gather, she is in a rather delicate state of mind right now, though I am sure she's actually very strong."

"What makes you say that?"

"The fact that she was able to resist Aragan's brainwashing and escape," Gold said.

"They use drugs and stuff, right?" Emma said.

"And torture. And anything else they can think of," Gold said. "Anyways, we'll be watching her."

"Not sure how I feel about having a fifty-year-old man watching her," Emma said.

Gold glared at her.

"I'm forty-eight," Gold said. "And I'm not about to go chasing after a girl twenty-six years younger than I am. I'm smarter than that."

"If you say so," Emma stood. "I'm going to look into a couple things. I'll see you at the office."

Gold nodded and stood to walk her to the door.

"If I'm not there yet, look for Jefferson," Gold said.

"Your partner, right?" Gold nodded. "Will do. See ya."

Gold closed the door, more than happy to get rid of his unwanted guest. Now to sleep off the rest of this hangover.


	3. Chapter 3

**Introducing the kids in this chapter finally.**

Xxx

Belle walked in the restaurant, unsure despite Regina's assurances. Regina had said it was okay to bring them with her; Regina always brought Henry. She had set up a room in the back for the kids while they worked, and since school wouldn't start for another month, Regina and the others with kids had them spend much of the day there, though they allowed to wonder about as long as they didn't cause trouble. Not that belle was worried about them getting into trouble, she was just used to hiding her children from the rest of the world. Her skin still crawled when she remembered the first time Hall had looked at one of her precious ones...

She shook the thought away as Regina approached.

"Good, you're here on time today. Come with me, I'll bring you to the kids' room."

Belle nodded and followed her through the Restaurant. The kids looked around, wide-eyed. The restaurant was without a doubt one of the fanciest places they had ever seen. Regina led them behind the counter in the back and down a hall. To the right was the kitchen, the cooks bustling as they prepared for the day. Regina opened the door to the left and led them in.

The room was large and definitely decorated for kids, though not too overly done. There was a large flat screen TV at the far end of the room with a DVD player a number of gaming consoles Belle couldn't name. To the left was a relatively new computer, to the right were a number of boxes and chests filled with toys and a shelf full on books. In the center was a large couch and bean bags. There were three children already there, two boys and a girl. They stared at them wide-eyed, while Belle's boys hid behind her. Her daughter, on the other hand, smiled brightly and walked towards them.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Beatrix and I'm this many!"

She put up four fingers, and one of the boys smiled. Beatrix had skin paler than her mother's; she looked as though she had never seen sun-light before. She had her mother's curly hair, but it was bright red, and she had dark eyes. She was very small, as one would expect, but smaller than she should be.

"Hi! I'm Henry, and I'm this many!"

The boy mimicked Beatrix by putting up ten fingers. Beatrix began to count his fingers audibly, stumbling over then numbers 6 and eight.

"...10!" Beatrix announced proudly.

"Yup! This is Ava and Nicholas."

The two smiled warily at the new kids. Beatrix didn't seem to notice as she had decided to introduce her brothers.

"Elias is 6, Micah is 8, and Joel and Noel are both 10 cause their twins!"

Elias was holding one of his older brother's hands, his ice-blue eyes wide. The child had pale blonde hair and was frighteningly thin. Micah, the bravest of the boys, was cautiously walking up behind his sister. The boy stood out among his siblings, simply because unlike them. He had dark skin and raven-dark hair, and didn't seem to look like his siblings at all, but he had his mother's bright-blue eyes. The twins looked like male versions of their mother. Joel was holding Elias' hand while Noel hid behind his mother, clinging to her shirt like his life depended on it.

"You guys think you can stay here for a while?" Belle asked.

Beatrix nodded enthusiastically, while the other boys nodded warily. Noel, however, seemed to panic at the thought of Belle leaving. Joel released Elias' hand and went to dislodge his twin, allowing Noel to cling to himself instead. Regina stepped aside, allowing the reluctant mother to walk out.

"If you need anything, either have Henry call the front or _quietly _come find one of the waitresses, but stay out of the kitchen, it can be dangerous," Regina warned before shutting the door.

Regina had watched the interchange with great interest, wanting to gain more insight on her new girl. Regina was now sure that whatever reason she had to run, it had something to do with the children. Especially the eldest-Noel was it? The child was without a doubt sorely traumatized, and the other boys looked like they expected something to attack them at any moment. Beatrix, however, was a real sweetheart. Reminded her of Henry at that age.

Her mind wondered back to Noel. Rage boiled at the thought of someone hurting the child to the point he was so terrified.

Regina silently swore, despite barely knowing the family, that she would protect them, no matter what.

She knew the girl was trouble.


	4. Chapter 4

Xxx

Belle wondered if she had made a mistake. She wasn't used to interacting with people. She had been around many people, but was rarely allowed to actually communicate with anyone. Oh, she hoped she didn't embarrass herself or Regina, especially after the woman had helped her.

The woman was a mystery. She seemed so cold to begin with, but then she took her in. She was sure it had to do with her children. Maybe she had a soft spot for kids? It probably had something to do with it, but it wasn't everything, she was sure. She could see it in her eyes. She may not know much about communicating with people, but she was pretty good at reading them. She got the feeling Regina wasn't much different from herself.

Belle looked at herself in the mirror again. She was wearing a simple red shirt with a black tie and skirt. She honestly didn't like skirts; she felt more secure in pants. But she didn't really have a choice. Regina left her in the hands of her head waitress: a girl named Mary Margret. Mary was probably one of the most beautiful girls she had ever seen. Ashley was a slight girl, and very pregnant. Ruby came in late. Belle had been shocked when she saw the girl for the first time. No woman would are wear something like that at Aragan, not unless you wanted to get whipped.

"You're the new girl, right?" Ruby asked. "You are totally adorable. You should totally let me dress you up some time. I have the coolest outfits in mind!"

Belle did not like the idea of being at the mercy of the girl before her.

"Ruby, leave her alone," Mary scolded.

"You probably shouldn't traumatize her on your first day," Ashley said.

"Anyways, Belle, you're going to follow me around for a while and watch me," Mary said. "Then you'll try a few tables on your own."

Belle nodded.

Belle wasn't sure how long she spent following Mary on the few customers they had. The restaurant wouldn't start getting busy till till about about 12:30 when most of their customers would be on their lunch breaks. Belle watched intently, doing her best to appear invisible, which she was quite good at. Talking to people? Not so much. She didn't want to disappoint anyone or get into trouble on her first day, so she wanted to be able to do the best she could.

"I'll- Can I try the next table?" Belle finally asked.

"Sure! You have everything?" Mary asked. "Oh, wait, that's Gold. I'll take care of him."  
Curious, Belle looked over to where two men and a woman had just sat down.

"Is there something wrong with him?" Belle asked, wincing at her choice of words.

"He tends to be a bit of a grouch," Mary said.

"Oh, let her take it," Ruby said. "Jefferson is with him. He'll control Gold."

Mary looked wary but consented. Belle felt like she was going to be sick, but focused on smiling and not tripping over her own feet as she approached the table.

"Hi! My name is Belle and I'll be your server for the day," she said, her voice much too high-pitched. The woman at the table seemed to flinch.

"I haven't seen you before," the man who had to be Jefferson said. "You new here?"

"Yes, sir," Belle said.

"Belle French, yes?" Gold asked.

"Yes sir?" Belle felt uneasy.

"Regina told me about you. I live in the apartment next to yours," he said.

"Oh! P-pleased to meet you," she said, not really sure what to do. The small man looked her up and down than nodded.

"C-could I get you anything to drink?"

"Water for me, please," the woman said.

"Gold and I will have the usual," Jefferson said.

"The usual, sir?" Belle inquired.

"Sorry. Two large earl grays, one with regular sugar and the other with about a pound of sugar," Jefferson said.

Belle looked unsure.

"About three times the norm, dearie," Gold sighed.

"Ah, yes! One water, two teas one with normal sugar and the other with three times as much," Belle wrote it down quickly. "Will that be all?"

"Yes, dearie," Gold said.

Belle headed straight to the back, where Ruby and Mary were waiting.

"They said-"

"You okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" Belle asked.

"Gold didn't... you know... threaten to sell your liver?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby!"

"What?"

"That's ridiculous, he doesn't say stuff like that!"

"Well, h-he was perfectly fine with me," Belle said.

"Okay, he is either sick, or he is being a creep, take your pick," Ruby said.

"Oh, will you stop that!" Mary said. "He's probably just in a good mood or something. Belle better go get their drinks before it wears off."

"Um..."

"Come on, I'll show you," Mary said.


End file.
